Jazz & Improvisation / All styles

"Det Flygande Barnet" is a theatre piece that has its premiere performance on 7th February at Orionteatern in Stockholm, Sweden. The piece will run through March and Fire! will be performing live as an important part of the piece. This 7" is being released as a souvenir in a limited edition of 700. Guests on this 7" is Mariam Wallentin (Wildbirds & Peacedrums, Fire! Orchestra) and David Sandström from legendary hardcore punk group Refused. There might be a couple more singles from this th…

In case you weren't there, Bocian present documentation of a pretty unhinged Cafe Oto session between gifted improvisers, Mats Gustafsson (reeds), John Russell (guitar) & Phil Minton (voice). Just imagine stumbling in on this one unprepared - a trio of blokes bleating, parping and yanking like Reeves & Mortimer after three days on the sauce. Of course, that description does a disservice to their well-honed extended technique and dexterity, but we'd defy anyone to keep a totally straight face at …

Schlippenbach Trio's magic chemistry is founded on years of working together, both on intuitive listening and interaction – the ability to respond in an instant – andon the match between their characters, each adding to the whole as well as challenging each other – a stroke of fortune. Alexander von Schlippenbach likes to talk about the 'impetus of music making'. Impetus means drive, initiative, force, momentum, temperament. Three 'travelling fellows' on a Winterreise. The motto is: never …

A pair of discrete releases, each documenting a separate set of a concert given by the trio, along with "Two City Blues 1", recorded on one intense night at Tokyo's Shinjuku Pit Inn. A trio of three towering figures, German free jazz legend Peter Brötzmann, Japanese avant-garde wizard Keiji Haino, and wildly versatile American composer and musician Jim O'Rourke, recorded by Yasuo Fujimura on November 23, 2010. Brötzmann: alto and tenor saxophones, tarogato, and clarinet; Haino: guitar, voice, sh…

The brilliant sax player John Butcher continues to expand the boundaries of free improvisation. This is his latest solo release. An inexhaustible outpouring of ideas blends with phantasmagoric, wondrous technique to create a richly colored, dynamic world of sound. Not only is this John Butcher's greatest masterpiece, but as a solo saxophone album it is a valuable document that can even be said to rank alongside Evan Parker's 'Monoceros''. The 3 pieces were performed at Shimanouchi Church …

A superb collection of modern jazz, recorded in 1973 and available for the first time. The pressing is limited to only 35 copies on a one-sided picture disc with a paste-on back (photos & notes).

Previously only available on CD, these amazing jazz compositions with a '60s vibe were recorded at NYC's Air Studio in 1981. The musicians are Charles Tyler (alto & baritone sax), Wilber Morris (bass) and drummer Denis "Jazz" Charles. The pressing is limited to only 70 copies with a paste-on cover (front and back with notes).

Available for the first time, this LP offers two beautiful side-long compositions, recorded live at th Jazztage in Leverkusen, Germany 1986. The musicians are Billy Bang (violin), Roy Campbell Jr. (trumpet), Oscar Sanders (guitar), William Parker (bass) and Zen Matsuura (drums). Limited editions of only 70 copies with paste-on cover (front and back with notes).

Matsuli Music continues its reissue program of rare indigenous afro-jazz sounds from South Africa with the release of Sowetan group Batsumi's self-titled debut from 1974. The reissue has been lovingly re-mastered from the original tapes and features material compiled on the recent Next Stop Soweto series from Strut. The album arrived amidst a period of intense political, intellectual and artistic ferment stimulated in large part by the teachings of Steve Biko and the Black Consciousness Movement…

Ndikho Xaba was born in 1934 in Pietermaritzburg, KZN, South Africa. For thirty-four years —  1964 –1998 — he lived in exile in the US, Canada and Tanzania. Originally issued by Trilyte Records out of Oakland, California, this 1970 recording is bracing, freewheeling Now Thing, suffused with SA idioms, and focussed by a political urgency wiring together US Black Power, Black Aesthetics and the anti-apartheid front-line like nothing else. You can hear Trane from the off — ‘a spiritual offering to …

"The enthusiasm of the Paris audience, the strong following the Aylershad in France does not come as a total surprise, For, as the musician and his brother explained in the Down Beat story: if you really understoodthe message of Sidney Bechet, you should have no difficulty to this newkind of free spiritual."-Peter Niklas Wilson "The two concerts presented on this disc represent two of the finest dates of Albert Ayler's European tour of 1966. The band -- with brother, Don, on trumpet, violinist M…

"Reissue as part of the 40th anniversary of Hat Hut Records. What we have here is a one-nighter by the Steve Lacy Quartet at Paris' Sunset Club...The four members of the quartet get a chance to stretch out and you can feel the club energy clearly in the recording - it's a good night at the Sunset...in this era of homogenization - of jazz players who are filled with technique but have gotten their sound from textbooks - there is not enough attention that can be focused on an uncompromising jazz i…

In 1996, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Joe McPhee's first solo release, McPhee recorded this remarkable album of solo reeds, pocket cornet, and electronics, using overdubbing to create gripping music including an homage to Miles Davis and unique versions of standards. "For me, 1996 was an important transitional year in which I decided to pursue what I called Project Dream Keeper. The goal, to begin realizing projects which had been shelved for years. One such project was to produce a s…

On December 14th, 2011 - Mats Gustafsson played an amazing solo concert at our table at Bar Brooklyn in Stockholm. He was supposed to play a "real" concert but bastards didn't care much for that so he ended up playing at the head of our table. Someone spilled a full beer over his merch that was on that table, and we were all overly excited, of course. Jean-Louis Huhta recorded it on his Zoom, and this is an excellent document of today's leading free jazz magus. Limited to 200 copies. Tran…

Found in the archives of FMP! The very first - never released - recordings of the Schlippenbach Trio! Alexander von Schlippenbach, piano, Evan Parker, tenor and soprano saxophone, Paul Lovens, drums. Recorded by an unknown engineer april 2nd 1972 during the Workshop Freie Musik at the Acadamy of the Arts, Berlin. All music by Parker, Von Schlippenbach, Lovens. Mastering by Olaf Rupp & Martin Siewert. Produced by Jost Gebers."Pianist Alexander von Schlippenbach along with Evan Parker on tenor and…

First solo recording by Mark Sanders, one of the world's great improvisors. Recorded from the drummer's perspective, a beautiful virtuoso performance in 9 parts.

CD comes in a silkscreened gatefold cover. Le Jardin Bizarre (the odd garden) is the follow up to the album 'Outside Darkness', released in 2011 by PSF. It is a hollow album, stretching out long rests in which a sticky melancholy, an infinite sadness amplifies itself. 6 tracks dark as so many gardens - gardens seen through night, 6 shades of black, 6 colours of silence. While 'Outside Darkness' appeared like a shadow cast over Fukushima, 'Le Jardin Bizarre' is it's elegy. Disquieting calligrams …

Dale Cooper Quartet and The Dictaphones are back with their third album called "Quatorze Pièces de Menace". This new full-length of the cult French Dark Jazz collective is the follow up of the highly acclaimed 2011 output "Métamanoir" - the second release for the German experimental music label Denovali. Halfway from their debut "Parole de Navarre"'s ambient and drone driven soundscapes and the more orchestrated "Métamanoir", this new collection of tracks is following their quest for dreamy but …

Established in 2007, Roil play their own original style of jazz-inspired improvised music, and have released 3 albums thus far: Meaning (2009) on Australian label, Rufus, Frost Frost (2011) on uk label, Bo'weavil Recordings & Raft Of The Meadows (2014) on Lithuanian label NoBusiness records.Their music draws upon a varied pallet; at times it comes close to free jazz, at other times to experimental improvisation, while also referencing other styles such as minimalism, reductionism and ambient …

Percussionist Juan Pablo Carletti leads a trio with Tony Malaby on sax and Christopher Hoffman on cello, beautifully unfolding jazz that balances light and dark, melodic and free approaches with textural percussive work. For his debut album, NYC-based Argentinian drummer Juan Pablo Carletti has made some wise choices, even before one considers the music. Foremost among those is the selection of saxophonist Tony Malaby to front his trio. Malaby has a compelling track record of energising such thr…

"Is there a better all-around bassist with a bow than Barry Guy? That query may scream sycophantic hyperbole, but in taking stock of the British improviser's discography it's an interrogative that can't help but manifest repeatedly. On Guy's end the distinction of best isn't even a peripheral consideration or goal. He's placed his instrument in near-countless contexts, bringing to it a perfect sense of pitch and dynamics. Five Fizzles for Samuel Beckett is right in line with that sterling…

Unreleased session from 1975. "Trumpeter Ted Daniel's Energy Module was a short-lived band. They played exactly two gigs in the course of one week in the fall of 1975-and never played again. They gelled quickly as a quintet, however, in large part because everyone knew each other from working in Daniel's big band, Energy. However, the Energy Module was a less formal affair than the large ensemble, in which they played Daniel's original compositions and arrangements. "We had a couple of re…

Big Tip! Unreleased session from 1975."Trumpeter Ted Daniel's Energy Module was a short-lived band. They played exactly two gigs in the course of one week in the fall of 1975-and never played again. They gelled quickly as a quintet, however, in large part because everyone knew each other from working in Daniel's big band, Energy. However, the Energy Module was a less formal affair than the large ensemble, in which they played Daniel's original compositions and arrangements. "We had a couple of r…

\\\"Billy Bang was a brilliant human being, always much more than himself, especially when he surrendered to his true calling-that of musician, one who transforms music into magic, dancing instead of walking, jumping instead standing still. Billy Bang was an American original, an original musician, an organic person who had tapped into the river of sound and was riding on a boat drenched in blues-soul-funk and space.Billy is gone and unfortunately for the world there will never ever be another p…

Distinguished jazz and improvisation artists, pianist Dave Burrell and trombonist Steve Swell have crafted one of the most exciting and unique duo presentations I've heard in quite some time. The album moniker Turning Point is the third in a series of five suites honoring the individuals and events of the American Civil War. Here, Burrell ruminates upon Civil War era Americana, integrated with a progressive jazz flair amid lofty improvisational sequences and humbly stated melodic choruses v…

On their fifth album, Swedish vibraphonist Mattias Stahl joins the Portuguese RED Trio as a guest. He's the latest in a sequence which includes alliances with saxophonist John Butcher and trumpeter Nate Wooley on disc, and reedman Ken Vandermark in performance. The product, North And The Red Stream, comprises three collective improvisations recorded at the VDU Jazz Festival in the Lithuanian city of Kaunas in 2013. Each arises from an impromptu give and take, negotiated on the fly, as the pri…

This is the original Bob James; his very first album, in fact, recorded at age 22 (and produced by Quincy Jones) as a prize for winning the 1962 Collegiate Jazz Festival.

One of two different sets, along with "Two City Blues 1", recorded on one intense night at Tokyo's Shinjuku Pit Inn. A trio of three towering figures, German free jazz legend Peter Brötzmann, Japanese avant-garde wizard Keiji Haino, and wildly versatile American composer and musician Jim O'Rourke, recorded by Yasuo Fujimura on November 23, 2010. Brötzmann: alto and tenor saxophones, tarogato, and clarinet; Haino: guitar, voice, shamisen; O'Rourke: guitar.

"Recorderd in 1968, here we have a very rare South African jazz album, only two copies known in the whole wide world: one in the hand of a SA prime minister and the other one in the hand of an art gallery owner (= original it's practically impossible to find ?!). this new edition had been re-mastered and cleaned, with different art on cover but by the same fine artist. a very unique record with such an unusual instrument combination, all songs written by Mr. Nxumalo who is surely an origin…

For their 3rd album together, the trio of saxophonist Peter Brotzmann, bassist John Edwards and drummer Steve Noble are caught live at the 2013 Ljubljana Jazz Festival for three blistering works of free improvisation. This is the second album by the Peter Brotzmann trio with John Edwards and Steve Noble, following “The Worse the Better” (they’re also together in a third one, “Mental Shake”, but with the addition of Jason Adasiewicz and his vibraphone). And just like that first opus, recorded …

2013 release, outstanding edition. "This marvelously produced four-LP box on 180g vinyl (with accompanying digital download) documents three days of concerts in Berlin from October 2011, features sixteen British improvisers in differing combinations—duos, trios, quartets, and quintets. The meticulous presentation includes two essays, one historical by Brian Morton and another contextual by Wolfgang Seidel. The elaborate booklet also contains plenty of photographs, artist bios, and a lengthy inte…

A wonderful run of music from the great Steve Lacy – all of the larger group recordings done for the Black Saint/Soul Note label – nearly 20 years of really inventive albums! Lacy's solo and smaller group material were already collected in another excellent box in this series – but this collection shows Steve stepping out in a mode that's not nearly as well-represented on other labels – some of his more intense, complicated efforts – done with both familiar associates, and some surprising choice…

Cam Jazz reissue the complete Black Saint and Soul Note works of Sun Ra in hisexemplary series of boxed sets dedicated to the catalogues of the legendary Italian labels. This set contains four albums in slipcases with original album artwork, housed in a sturdy box.Reflections in Blue“One of the finest Sun Ra recordings from his final years, this effort is particularly recommended due to the many Ra keyboard solos and John Gilmore features, the latter of which include a tenor showcase on "Opus In…

Exact repro reissue of Cecil Taylor's first album for the Candid label, originally released in 1960. Featuring Cecil Taylor (piano), Buell Neidlinger (bass), Dennis Charles (drums), Archie Shepp (tenor saxophone).From the opening patterns of Denis Charles' drums on the title cut, the listener knows he/she is in for something special. One can only imagine what the reaction of the average jazz fan was in 1960 when this session was recorded. This is a wonderful document from early in Taylor's ca…

housed in a thick, embossed gatefold sleeve. Subtitle: Esoteric, Modal and Deep Jazz from Around the World, 1961-79. Until it was swept aside by the pop explosion of the 1960s, jazz was the most popular modern sound on earth. From the New World and the Caribbean to Africa, across the Soviet Bloc and the British Empire to the Far East, jazz music was embraced, adopted, played and enjoyed. Having examined spiritual jazz as it was expressed in the U.S., and followed its messengers and influen…

Outstanding!! A confirmation of their ascension to the highest level of improvising ensembles, Konstrukt recently shared the stage with such names as Evan Parker, Marshall Allen, Joe McPhee and Peter Brotzmann showing their great ability to adjust their instantly composed music to the presence of a guest. And we can only say that this latest collaboration with the legendary American double bassist William Parker is another evidence of their prowess. The live recording of their show at NazÄ…

** Second edition, 200 copies on black vinyl ** Konstrukt is the free jazz revelation of the last ten years.This incredible quartet of saxophonist Korhan Futaci, guitarist Umut Caglar, drummer Korhan Arguden and percussionist Ozun Usta is blowing a real stream of fresh air, like the Art Ensemble of Chicago did in the 70s. This live multi-channel recording by Giulio Moratti captures their whole performance at Tarcento Jazz Festival (July 18th 2014) giving a perfect taste of their Cosmic–Turkish f…

Paal Nilssen-Love has been one of the world's most prolific and active musicians that came out of Norway for the last 20 years. With thousands of gigs and hundreds of recordings the drummer is known for bands like The Thing, OffOnOff, Ballister, Hairy Bones, Chicago Tentet, and Original Silence, as well as collaborations with musicians like Arto Lindsay, Otomo Yoshihide, Akira Sakata, Ken Vandermark, Jim O'Rourke, Peter Brötzmann, Thurston Moore, Michiyo Yagi and many others. In 2013 Nils…

With track titles translating to Song For The Devil and The Witches, Francois Tusques’ rarest commercially released LP casts an early stylistic premonition of the vampire themed improvised soundtracks recorded for director Jean Rollin merely months after its release. Assembling the very same group of musical sorcerers this albums personnel (featuring, amongst others, soprano saxophonist Barney Wilen) reads like a who’s who of France’s early improvised music/free jazz scene resulting in a wholly …

Boxset with the six Perigeo original RCA albums ("Azimut", "Abbiamo tutti un blues da piangere", "Genealogia", "La valle dei templi", "Non è poi così lontano", "Live at Montreux"), the double album "Live in Italy 1976", released on Contempo label and one DVD with three live shows and an interview, Comes with a 52 colour pages book which features a new and detailed history of the band throughout their discography, written by Marco Giorgi with really rare photos.